1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to gate and door fasteners and chain hooks and latches that allow a section of chain to detachably secure a gate or door in a closed position.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are numerous models of chain hooks and latches that allow a section of chain to detachably secure a gate or door in a closed position. Prior chain hooks and latches generally require that a link of the section of chain be deliberately placed in a slot on the device so that the door or gate may be held closed. Slots on the prior devices generally are rectangular and extend at an angle, generally not perpendicular, to one straight side of a plate. At the position where the sides of the slots meet the side of the plate, there is usually an abrupt untapered corner or a slight beveled area where the link of the chain enters the slot. The shape of the prior devices usually does not allow for a user to hurriedly but securely lock a gate by tossing a chain toward the device as the slot opening is not structured for such a use.
Examples of prior devices used to enable latching of a door or gate with a chain include the following. The gate fastening of Smith (U.S. Pat. No. 1,325,538) is a plate adapted to be fastened to a gate, door or door frame. The plate has an upstanding hook provided with an angularly disposed slot having parallel sides, into which slot a link of chain may be placed to lock the gate. A hasp located below the hook allows a padlock to be used to lock the chain from moving.
Oliver et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,720,431) provides a latch plate that may be mounted on a farm gate. The latch plate has a partially inverted T-shaped slot that has beveled portions opening on to an angle edge of the plate. The cross-leg of the T-shaped slot has different length halves.
The chain and hook lock of Condos (U.S. Des. Pat. No. 241,506) includes two perpendicular plates, one of which has a generally linear slot extending into the plate at an acute angle from a slightly wider opening on a side of the plate.
The gate latch apparatus of Miller (U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,975) includes a chain and a cooperating latch plate assembly having an L-shaped receiving slot and a gravity operating keeper to hold the chain link in the slot.
The door security device of Grassi (U.S. Pat. No. 4,560,191) includes a U-shaped chain engaging bracket formed by two legs and a saddle. There are slots perpendicular to the upper and lower edges of one of the legs as well as on the saddle, while the first leg attaches to a support.
The chain keeper of Beudoin et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 7,000,292) includes a support bracket from which project two plates. A slot is formed where the two plates converge toward each other at the bottom of the support bracket. Holes in the chain keeper are provided for receiving a padlock and for attaching the support bracket to a fixed structure.
It is therefore an object of the invention herein to provide a chain hook device having a slot formed so that a user may simply toss a chain at the device and obtain a secure latching of a gate or door.
Other objects and advantages will be more fully apparent from the following disclosure and appended claims.